Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) introduced the bill. It combines three other bills — the Common Sense Compensation Act (HR 1541), the Government Employee Accountability Act (HR 2579) and the Citizen Empowerment Act (HR 2711) — all of which originated in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The legislation is part of a broader initiative by House Republicans, coined "Stop Government Abuse Week," to move 10 separate bills through the chamber in their last week in session before the August recess begins.

"How a government employee interacts with you, the taxpayer, must be considered
when it comes time to evaluate how well they do their job. We look forward to
passing this agenda," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a video released July
26.

The House passed five bills Wednesday tied to the government waste and abuse
initiative.

One of the bills passed, the Government Spending Accountability Act of 2013 (H.R. 313), would place caps on the amount of money that may be spent on government conferences and would require agencies to post information about conference spending on their websites. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) co-sponsored the bill.

"The point of this bill is not to eliminate federal conferences. If federal
employees are on these conferences to work, then their expenses will reflect that. What we don't want to happen is the government paying for federal employees' vacations. Expenses like mind readers, clowns, line dancing lessons and a Star Trek video are not a good use of taxpayers' hard-earned money," said Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), who introduced the bill Jan. 18, in a press
release.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced a similar bill, the Conference Accountability Act of 2013 (S. 1347) on July 23. That bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Coburn's bill would forbid agencies from sending more than 50 employees to
international conferences without the approval of the Secretary of State. No
agency would be permitted to spend more than $500,000 to support a single
conference. Agencies also would be required to post travel information and
expenses on the Web.

The STOP IRS Act (H.R. 2565), sponsored by Rep. James Renacci (R-Ohio), also passed the House Wednesday. If enacted, the bill would make it easier to terminate IRS employees who take certain actions for political purposes.

"There is currently a process in place to remove bad actors. There is currently a
list of offenses that would subject an employee to that process. All I want to do
is add political targeting to the list of fireable offenses," Renacci said on the House floor
earlier this week.

The Stop Playing on Citizens' Cash Act (HR 2769), sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and introduced July 22, also passed the House Wednesday. If enacted, the bill would impose a moratorium on IRS conferences.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2013 (H.R. 2768), also sponsored by Roskam and passed by the House, would require the IRS commissioner to ensure employees act in accord with specified taxpayer rights.

"From targeting individuals for their political or religious beliefs to wasting
millions of taxpayer dollars, the IRS scandals tell a story of a bureaucracy out
of control. In an era of big government, federal agencies like the IRS have grown
larger, gained more power and have become unaccountable to the taxpayers they are
supposed to serve," Roskam said in a press
release.

Friday, the House will consider the Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act (H.R. 2009). If enacted, the legislation would forbid the IRS from enforcing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) introduced the bill in May.